Paper-currency and bill counting machine.



A. VON BARTH.

PAPER CURRENCY AND BILL COUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, I914.

Patented July 20, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH coqwAsl-uuaroN. DI c.

ARTHUR VON EARTH, OF PERTH AMBOY, NEW'JERSEY.

PAPER-CURRENCY AND IBILI: COUNTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed January 7, 1914. Serial No. 810,862.

To all whom it may concern l3e it known that I, ARTHUR VON BARTH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Perth Amboy, in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Paper-Currency and Bill Counting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to counting ma chines, particularly of the class adapted for counting paper money, although not confined thereto, being equally useful for handling similar laminary objects, whose counting is desired.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation partly in section, being taken along the line AB of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the right hand end of the machine as shown in Fig. 1, the wall being removed to show the interior mechanism along the line XY of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar elevational view of the left end of the machine. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional.

view along the line MN of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machine, partly in section, along the line P-Q,R of Fig. 3.

In the walls 1 and 2 of the machine are journaled a pair of hollow perforated rollers 6 and 7, over which passes an endless belt 4, provided with longitudinal perforations 5, suitably spaced from one another. The space inclosed between the walls 1 and 2, and the upper and lower reaches of the endless belt 4 is connected with an opening 8 which leads to an air suction chamber 9, which at its bottom end 10 is connected with the air duct 10 which in turn leads to an exhaust apparatus contained in a casing 11, and driven by an electric motor 12.

In proximity to the roller 6 and that portion of the belt 4 passed thereover is located an auxiliary endless belt 13, which passes over the main roller 14 and the idler rollers 15 and 16. This auxiliary belt 13 is caused to travel in the opposite direction to the upper belt 4, by means of two spur gears 13 and 13 (shown particularly in Fig. 3), and like the belt 4 is provided with a series of longitudinal perforations 5 spaced similarly to those in the upper belt 4. From the space inclosed between the upper and lower reaches of this auxiliary endless belt 13, and the adjacent portions of the walls 1 and 2, leads an opening 17, which is also connected with the air suction chamber 9.

case of both vacuum chambers however,

guard walls 8 and 17 respectively, are placed, to protect the partial vacuum inside of these spaces against leakage, and to cause the air suction to act upward toward the in side of the space inclosed by the reaches of the belt 4, and from outside downward into the corresponding space between the parts of the belt 13. 1 1

Between the walls 18 and 18 is included the space where the pile of bills 3, whose counting is desired, is to be located, and openings19 and 19 lead to connection with the air suction chamber 9, and the walls of this bill storage space are provided at the top with longitudinal slots 20 and 20 which extend lengthwise of the bills. By means of this connection with the air suction chamber 9 an air draft is provided through the upper part of the stack of bills and downward into the wall space, in order to keep all the bills except the uppermost one from rising. The top of this stack of bills, however, being quite close to the lower reach of the belt 4, when the pressure is lowered through the opening 8, and any one of the perforations 5 in the belt 4 reaches a point immediately thereabove, the suction causes the topmost bill to rise theretoward, and the bill is carried along with the travel of the belt toward the left and toward the space separating the lower reach of the belt 4 from the upper reach of the belt 13; and since some of the perforations 6 in the roller 6 register with the perforations 5 against which the bill has been drawn from its original place of storage, after the belt passes over the roller the bill continues to adhere to the belt until it reaches the deflector 21, which scrapes it off from the traveling roller so that it can drop thence to the top of the pile 22. It not infrequently happens, however, that two bills instead of one are drawn at the same time from the initial storage pile 3, and are drawn along by the belt 4. When, however, that portion of the belt against which it has been drawn reaches the clear space between the lower reach of the belt 4 and the upper reach of the auxiliary belt 13, the adhesion of the second bill to the first bill is broken by the positive air suction from the interior of the belt 13, which, although weaker than that within the reaches of the belt 4, is stronger than the suction that is communicated to the outer bill through the topmost bill, as taken from the pile, to which the second bill has adhered. It is consequently drawn away therefrom, and drawn along the auxiliary belt 13 toward a depository for uncounted bills, that is shown at 25 just below the idler roller 16; the main belt 4% meantime carries the bill which was first drawn from the storage pile past the counting device 26 to the deflector 21, as already described. The detachment of the second bill from the auX- iliary belt 13 is provided-for by an apron 25. In case, however, the adhesion of the topmost bill on the storage pile 3 to the one next below is due to the presence of some sticky substance on the adjacent faces, the weaker vacuum. within the belt 13 may not be strong enough to cause the disengagement of the two bills, the second continuing to adhere to the first in a partially hanging position. To provide for such a case, I in stall in their path of travel a lever 33, which is ournaled at 34: and 34 in the walls of the machine, and along whose lower end 31 is fixed a bar 44, to which an electric contact 35 is fixed. hen a bill thus adhering to the one first drawn up by the belt & touches the lever 33, it tilts it slightly to the left, causing the contact 35 to touch another contact 36, which is mounted on the inside wall of the machine. This completes an electric circuit, and actuates the armature of the electromagnet 37. The end of this armature being attached to the lever 38, whose lower ends straddle a friction clutch member 39, draws the clutch member out of engagement with an external clutch member 40, which constitutes part of a pulley, of any desired type on the motor shaft. This halts the action of the belt carrier 1, and of the auxiliary belt 13, and calls the'atten-tion. of the attendant to the fact that two bills need separating. The restoration of the lever 33 to normal position causes the separation of the contacts 35 and 36 from one another, and? the consequent deenergization of the electromagnet 37 and permits a spring 11 to act to throw the friction clutch 39 into engagement with the clutch member 40, which causes the resumption of movement of the carrier belt 4;. The connection between the motor shaft and belts f and 13 is effected through the medium of belt 42 and the two spur gears 13 and 13- already referred to. The stoppage of the two belts does not, however, halt the action of the vacuum apparatus -11, which is maintained by a constantly revolving motor shaft 12 so that other bills drawn up against other holes 5 in the belt a are still held in place.

A second oscillating lever 43 is located at the left hand side of the belts as shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 and Fig. 5, journaled at 44 and 45 and carrying the opposite end on the bar 4.4-. Its purpose is to catch bills that have, for some reason or other, escaped contact ng with the lever 33, and in this sense is auxiliary only, and is indispensable to the main spirit of my invention. When a partially pendent bill, the second in the storage pile 3, engages the upper end of the lever 41-3, the contacts 35 and 36 are caused to touch, actuating the armature, as already described. Being located at a point beyond which the influence of the auxiliary belt 13 ends, it acts as a selective means for catching a bill not drawn away by vacuum prevailing within the reaches of the belt 13.

The counting mechanism already referred to, comprises an electromagnet 27, to which the oscillating liver 26 of the counter 26 is pivoted, the wires 29 being provided with contacts 30 which are in circuit with a source of electrical supply shown in 28. The contact 30 is rigidly fastened to a wall bracket 2 2 while the other contact immediately below comprises one end of an oscillating lever 31, whose arms 31 and 31 are pivoted at 31 and one of which 31 penetrates the wall of the pipe the other carries disk 32 which covers the top end of the pipe 32. The disk is just enough smaller in diameter as compared with the pipe 32, to provide minute clearance, thus allowing the disk 32 to freely vibrate. The consequent small mo ement of the disk operates tomove the outside arm 31 of the lever, bringing the two contacts 30 in touch with each other, and by closing the circuit energizes the electromagnet 27, its armature .26 consequently causing the lever 26 of the counter 26 to oscillate each time a bill aasses it.

It will be noted that the pipe 32 is so sus pended within the air suction chamber 9, that its upper end is connected, through the medium of the hollow end 7 of the belt roller 7, with the hollow space therewithin. The upper end of the pipe 32 is closed or nearly so, as above explained, by the disk 32 The lower end of the pipe 32 leads to the air duct 10, which in turn it in direct communication with the apparatus 11. The periphery of the roller 7 is provided with two longitudinal perforations or slots 5 which are located diametrically opposite to each other, the peripheral distance between them being the same as the distance between the. slots 5 in the carrier belt 4, so that the longitudinal slots 5 on the roller 7 and the slots one another. It follows that if any one of on the belts 4 always register with,

the perforations 5 as it passes the pile of bills 3, fails to pick up a bill and consequently remains open, furnishing an inlet for outside air, that one of the longitudinal slots 5 on the roller 7 with which this slot registers will also remain open, permitting the maintenance of a free passage of air through the roller 7 its journaled end 7 and the pipe 32, and thence into the duct 10. hen, however, the several longitudinal slots 5 of the belt t perform their usual office of picking up the bills in passing the storage pile 3, the inward draft toward the longitudinal slot 5 and consequently toward the perforations 5 with which it registers, is cut ofi, causing a change in the pressure within the reaches of the belt 41-, and consequently a receding movement of the disk 32*, which causes the two contacts 30 to touch, as already described. The maintenance of the stored pile of bills 3 at a uniform rate is provided for by means of a slidable table -16, which is mounted upon the end of a rod M, which slides freely toward a bushing 48. The lower end of the rod is provided with a guide roller 50 over which passes a chain 51, one end of which is fixed to the under side of the stationary table or frame of the machine at 52, while the other end 52 passing over a sprocket wheel 53, carries on its end a suspended weight 54, so that the pull thereby exerted upon the chain causes the table 46 to move upward. In order that the pull of the weight 54: shall operate periodically only, and when, due to the removal of the bills by the belt carrier 4 the top of the pile 3 has been lowered to a point where the force of the air suction fails to attract a bill from the stack or pile, a pivotally supported teeler member 55 is provided, whose end 56 rests lightly on the top of the stack of bills. When the bills are at their normal level, the depending branch 57 of the feeler carries an electric contact 58 spaced from a stationary contact 59, supported by a bracket 60. These contacts are connected by wires 61 and 62 to a source of electric energy, shown at 63, and to an electromagnet 64, so as to form a circuit. The armature rod 65 of the electromagnet 64 is attached to the end of a pivotally supported bar 68, which carries a brake block 66, which is ordinarily pressed against the rim of the sprocket wheel 53 by means of spring 67, thereby holding the sprocket wheel against revolving, against the pull of the weighted chain 51. When, however, the height of the stack of bills 3 is diminished, the end 56 of the feeler drops accordingly, and the contact 58 engages the contact 59, thus completing the electric circuit and energizing the electromagnet 64, which in turn causes the retraction of the brake block 66 from the rim of the sprocket wheel 53; this permits the pull of the weight 54 on the chain 51 to raise the table, and consequently the supported stack of bills 3, and with it the end 56 of the feeler. This results in drawing the contact 58 away from the contact 59 and breaking the circuit. The electromagnet being deenergized, the spring 67 is thereby permitted to exercise its influence upon the brake block 66, which 1 engaging the rim of the sprocket wheel 53, stops the wheel from turning, and consequently prevents the further raising of the table 46.

What I claim is:

1. In the machine of the kind described, a fixed suction member constituting an extension of a suction chamber, and an outside member movably mounted around the fixed member; said movable member having a plurality of openings and moving in proximity to the top of a stack of bills to be removed and counted; means combined with the stationary and movable members to pick the uppermost bill from the staclqand deliver said bill to a place of deposit, another fixed suction member constituting also an extension of the suction chamber, and an outside auxiliary member movably mounted around said second fixed member, having also a plurality of openings and in proximity to the first movable member; said auxiliary moving member co'ciperatively moving with the first bill moving member, and preventing the carrying by said first moving member, of more than one bill at a time to a place of deposit. I V

2. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member, operative in the proximity of the top of a stack of bills, and a second also progressively moving suction member cotiperatively working with the first bill carrying suction member rat a distance from the stack of bills, and in proximity to said member adapted to prevent said bill carrying member from carrying more than one bill at a time.

3. In a. machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member, operative in the proximity of the top of a stack of bills, a second progressively moving suction mem ber coiiperatively working with the first bill carrying suction member at a distance from the stack of bills and in proximity to said first named member adapted to prevent said first named member, from carrying more than one bill at a time, and means adapted to be engaged by a supplemental and depending bill whereby it is forcibly detached from the bill then being carried by said first named suction member.

4. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member, operative in the proximity of the top of a stack of bills, at second progressively moving suction member cooperatively working ith the first named bill carrying suction member, and in proximity to said first named member, adapted to prevent said bill carrying member from carrying more than one bill at a time, and to positively separate two bills superficially adhering to one another, and a counting mechanism adapted to be ,operated by the engagement of bills passing the same and operating coincidentally with the final depositing by the carrier of bills.

5. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member, operative in the proximity of the top of a stack of bills, a second progressively moving suction member cooperatively working with the first named bill carrying suction member, and in proximity to said member, adapted to prevent said bill carrying member from carrying more than one bill at a time, means adapted to be engaged by an unintentionally lit'ted second bill whereby the mechanism is stopped from further operation until such unintentionally lifted bill is removed, a counting mechanism operative pneumoelectrically and coincidentally with the final de positing of bills by the carrier, and intermittently acting means for maintaining the level of the top of the stack of bills below the bill carrier.

6. In a machine of the kind described, in combination with a pair of endless belt members,--means for maintaining sub-atmospheric pressure between thereaclies thereof, means for storing a pile of bills to be han dled with its upper end in position to be acted upon by one of said endless belt members, means adapted to be actuated by the engagement of a passing bill thereagainst for counting the number of bills handled, a suction valve and a laterally branched air channel controlled thereby for controlling the action of said counting means, and

means adapted to automatically stop the machine when engaged by an eXtra bill adhering to one intentionally drawn from the place of storage at the same time.

7. in a machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member in the proximity-of the top of a stack of bills, a second progressively moving suction member 00- operatively working with the first bill carrying suction member at a distance from the stack of bills, electromagnetically operative means for arresting the movement of said two suction members, without interrupting the action of the air suction from inside of said bill carrying members, when engaged by a bill adhering to one intentionally lifted by said first named suction member.

8. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a bill carrying and progressively moving suction member in the proximity of the top of a stack of bills, a second progressively moving suction member cooperatively working with the first bill carrying suction member at-a distance from the stack of bills, an adjustable support for a column of uncounted bills, a brake and gravity weight, a teelei' and an electromagnet operated thereby, adapted to control the position of said support, whereby an intermittent adjustment of height of column of bills is provided for.

In testimony whereof, I have signed. my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR VON EARTH.

lvitnesses J. H. SLoAN, A. M. .OBnmN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washingtomil G. 

